Bridgewater State gives town $105,000 for equipment, scholarships

To ease a sometimes rocky town-gown relationship, Bridgewater State University this week donated $105,000 to the town for public safety and other needs. BSU also plans to make $25,000 available in scholarship money.

To improve a sometimes rocky town-gown relationship, Bridgewater State University this week donated $105,000 to the town for public safety and other needs.

The gift comes in addition to BSU’s annual agreed-upon gift of $50,000 and is part of an added financial commitment this year of nearly $200,000, according to a BSU press release.

“The town and the university have been working together to build their relationship,” Town Council President Timothy Fitzgibbons said Thursday.

“It certainly is an indication that we and the university are going to do a better job of coexisting,” he told The Enterprise.

The $105,000 includes $45,000 for a new fire truck and $40,000 for new communications equipment for the Police Department. The town will also receive a former BSU police cruiser for the building inspector, who has no town vehicle.

The university also plans $25,000 in scholarships, $1,000 each to 25 graduates of Bridgewater-Raynham High School who attend BSU this fall.

“Bridgewater State University is resolved to be a good neighbor in the town,” university President Dana Mohler-Faria said in the press release.